Top photos of 2012

JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Lt. Cmdr. Edward Miller IV (left) is greeted by his son, Edward Miller V, 2, at a homecoming ceremony for him and other members of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40 at Naval Base Ventura County on July 4.

Ventura County Star

JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Moorpark High School junior Thomas Lim, 17, who won the Marmonte League individual golf title as a sophomore, played the whole season with the human version of the Parvovirus.

Ventura County Star

ROB VARELA/THE STAR Although most of the Santa Clara River Valley Railroad Historical Society's Railfest 2012 was rained out, people could still ride a train pulled by a Fillmore and Western steam engine March 25.

Ventura County Star

ROB VARELA/THE STAR Punk rock band Anti-Flag's lead singer Justin Sane crowd-surfs during his band's set at the Vans Warped Tour at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on June 24.

Ventura County Star

Juan Carlo/The Star Ventura firefighters work on a fire at the Ventura River and the underpass to Highways 33 and 101 on March 6.

Ventura County Star

TROY HARVEY/THE STAR A Toon Town Papillon waits for a treat in the show pin at the Winterfest Dog Show at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on Jan. 22.

ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR A helicopter dumps fire retardant along a ridgeline near the top of Sexton Canyon in Ventura on Aug. 17.

Ventura County Star

ROB VARELA/THE STAR Alfredo Lagos, of Oxnard, checks his cellphone during his lunch break as he sits amid the risers of irrigation pipes that he and a crew at Laguna Ranch painted.

Ventura County Star

Chuck Kirman/The Star Jesse Kelly punts for St. Bonaventure as Ben Humphreys of Mater Dei tries for a block in the fog at Ventura High School on Nov. 23.

Ventura County Star

KAREN QUINCY LOBERG/THE STAR John Raymond (from left), Daphine Raymond, Tobias Raymond and Ephraim Raymond make Rebecca Raymond laugh while getting ready for a family portrait at her parents' home in Ventura. The Raymonds moved from Northern California to the house where her parents lived shortly after she learned she was 11 weeks pregnant and had breast cancer.

ROB VARELA/THE STAR A Gulf Fritillary butterfly comes in to land on a passion flower vine as it looks for places to lay its eggs in the front yard of a Ventura home.

Ventura County Star

Chuck Kirman/The Star Iliana Soto and her 9-year-old daughter, Miranda, who needed treatment at Vascular Anomalies center in New York, had to move because of the long treatment. They didn't have the resources to travel and needed help.

Ventura County Star

Juan Carlo/The Star Victor Ortiz fights Josesito Lopez at Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 23. Ortiz lost the fight because of a broken jaw at the end of the 9th round.

Ventura County Star

Juan Carlo/The Star Cameron Roach of Rio Mesa High finishes second to Notre Dame's Khalfani Muhammad by 0.003 second in the boys 4x100 relay at the CIF State Track and Field Championships on June 12 at Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School in Clovis.

Ventura County Star

Chuck Kirman/The Star Christopher Plummer, best supporting actor Oscar nominee for his role in "Beginners," arrives at the Arlington Theatre at the 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Jan. 28. Plummer received the festival's highest honor, the Modern Master Award.

Ventura County Star

Chuck Kirman/The Star Air Force Staff Sgt. Daniel Stephens presents the U.S. flag to retired Army Lt. Col. Richard Kohlbrand at a military funeral honoring Richard Keachie at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary and Cemetery on March 30.